Joe Dunne said that the club are finally in a position to be able to test Jabo Ibehre after a concussion has kept him out for best part of the calendar year.

The striker, who has scored five goals this season, has not featured for the U’s since being sent off against Crewe Alexandra on December 30 – with the lingering effects of a concussion keeping him out for longer than first anticipated on top of a suspension.

He was planned to be introduced back into the group over the next few days, but the quick turnaround in games and waterlogged pitches at the Clare College Sports Ground has meant that training has had to be scaled back.

“We feel we’re in a position to be able to test him, which is good for us and good for Jabo also,” the interim head coach said.

“The fact he looks after his body is important – nutrition and so on – that you don’t have to spend so much time on rehab and getting him up to a high level standard that’s needed.

“They’re already near that, so we’re just about in a position where we can test him.

"And that’s important from a contact point of view, and we’ll see where we are over the next few days.

"Obviously that’s weather permitting with the pitch and so on its whether we can get him into that group – but we’re confident that we’re in a position now to welcome him back into the group.”

Elsewhere, Piero Mingoia [groin] and Leon Legge’s [shoulder] recovery is on the right tracks.

Although both won’t feature at the weekend, Dunne said that they are both ahead of schedule for what would be expected at this stage.

“Leon shouldn’t be at the stage that he is, but he is because of the way he looks after himself and the work that he has done with the medical team,” he said

“And again for Piero. He’s another one who is in his mid-to-late 20s and another one who is working on getting fit and they’re getting back quicker than we would expect.

“The shoulder is improving because of the work he is doing so they may be available certainly in the short distance, rather than writing them off for the rest of the season.

“It's great for the club and testament that they want to get back and play for the club.”

Despite not featuring on Tuesday night, Barry Corr and Medy Elito should be back in contention for selection.

Elito hasn’t featured since the Forest Green Rovers match, initially through illness, while Corr did not make travel to Derbyshire on Tuesday night after playing the full 90 minutes again Lincoln just four days earlier, with Dunne saying they have to "manage" the 32-year-olds minutes.